Maibarara project gets CDM registration

Manila Bulletin 
By Myrna M. Velasco 
Published: May 21, 2013 
The 20-megawatt Maibarara geothermal project has successfully secured registration as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) venture sanctioned under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
According to Maibarara Geothermal, Inc. (MGI) president Francisco G. Delfin Jr., the CDM registration will help supplement the company’s revenue from the project – on top of its electricity sales.
He noted that their enlistment for carbon trading was handled by Asociacion Espanola de Normalizacion y Certificacion (AENOR) and by Endesa Carbono – the entities which prepared their project design document.
“Their joint efforts allowed MGI’s CDM registration submission to meet the December 2012 deadline under the Kyoto Protocol framework,” Delfin said.
The Maibarara project is majority-owned by PetroGreen Energy Corporation with 65-percent stake; while Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corporation has 25-percent equity; and the balance of 10-percent is held by Philippine National Oil Company-Renewables Corporation.
Department of Energy (DOE) director Mario C. Marasigan has emphasized that with the MGI facility’s CDM registration, it “is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 71,000 and 76,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.”
Delfin noted that the company is targeting to sell the first tranche of its carbon credits by early 2015. By then, the facility would have already reached one year milestone on its commercial operations.
“MGI will sell the Maibarara carbon credits to Endesa Carbono S.L. by virtue of a certified emission purchase agreement that the two firms signed on January 31, 2011,” he stressed.
Marasigan similarly indicated that the sponsoring company’s application for certificate of compliance (COC) with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) last April “is a critical step towards eventual commercial operation this year.
The DOE thus committed that “it will coordinate with the ERC and other agencies to ensure that government permits are released in a timely fashion.”
The Maibarara project is among the relevant additions set out by government to shore up supply in the Luzon grid starting this year.   source